Okay, so what's the oldest software that you still run on a regular basis...

For OS- I use WIN98SE more than anything else. You can boot into real-mode DOS by using "SETGUI=0".

I picked up some "Large" EIDE drives, 120GBytes .... being tossed...

If I ever fill up the 2GByte drive on my embedded development computer, I can upgrade.

I remember when a 1GByte drive was huge.
 
OS = W2K on a PII which runs apache,mysql,php,perl and a bunch of other old stuff too. And my lightweight website from home on a basic adsl connection with only 448 Kbits/s upload speed. And it works too.
 
I still use the software for my HP S20 negative scanner. It only runs on Win XP and below, must be from around the turn of the millennium. Before that I had to unretire my Mac G4 to talk to the Coolscan 4. I guess in the future we will have all kinds of old computers lying around that are only used for one application each. Ah, the joys of technology...
 
Office 97 is still in use on my machine. It does every thing I need it do if I ever need to write a letter or something and my wife used it for her coursework. Nikon Capture 4 is also still in use.
 
I heard yesterday that Commodore is being re-introduced with a relatively current chip but will be shipped with the ability to run all its old software and games. Seems like legacy software is growth industry.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
For OS- I use WIN98SE more than anything else. You can boot into real-mode DOS by using "SETGUI=0".

I picked up some "Large" EIDE drives, 120GBytes .... being tossed...

If I ever fill up the 2GByte drive on my embedded development computer, I can upgrade.

I remember when a 1GByte drive was huge.
Click to expand...

In 1986, our Dep Commander got a 5 Meg drive. We all marveled at that, wondering how he would ever fill it up. Today it would be hard to find a program that small. 😀

Double Negative said:
Commodore 64?

_1D_6958.jpg


...
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Yep, that was my first "serious" computer. I had learned enough on my Timex Sinclair 1000 to program much better in Basic on the Commodore. And nobody had games like the Commodore. The trick programmers learned with sprites and sounds was astounding.

I actually used my Timex Sinclair to keep track of things in my work. It helped a lot. By the time I got my Commodore, there were already programms available that I didn't have to program much. On my return to the States, I got Cobol and C, and really felt empowered. 😛 I just didn't really do anything serious with either, only using them in school.

After our house fire, I upgraded to IBM clones. I still have a computer with Windows 98, but for the legacy stuff, not because I can even converse with Brian Sweeney on computers or programming.

I do still have my Commodore and hope to get it out soon for a shutter testing program, if I can find that program again. Some of the games should be a hoot too.
 
tlitody said:
I heard yesterday that Commodore is being re-introduced with a relatively current chip but will be shipped with the ability to run all its old software and games. Seems like legacy software is growth industry.
Click to expand...

Kind of. It'll have Linux, with a C64 emulator on it. Over here: http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_C64.aspx

However it is pretty cool for one reason: the keyboard is fitted with Cherry Blues! No more of the original rubbish keyboard with binding keycaps and mushy feel. Now the keys will go `click' like a keyboard should!

Disclaimer: IBM Model M user.
 
shimokita said:
does "dos" count as an application?

and isn't windows just dos with some flash?
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Unix is just dos on steroids. And Mac OSs were designed to be idiot proof and they need to be. That's why the graphics industry like them so much.😀 All those years of claiming how fast they were when in reality they never were, at least not if you knew how to build a good PC. And finally they fessed up by using Intel processors.
 
Dos certainly counts. So does Commodore and IBM PC.

Remember the days when Technical Documentation included publishing source code for the BIOS?

My Techncial manual for the PC and XT include the hand-written corrections that I made to it... O-Scopes and Disassemblers.
 
tlitody said:
I think we should have a reminiscences forum called "When I was a lad" or "You were lucky"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo
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I suppose the point of this thread is: why upgrade when you are proficient in something, and the new stuff just slows you down. If what you use is sufficient to get the task done, and the new version is unnecessary to accomplish the stated goal, why upgrade?

With the M9- the "upgrade" meant using lenses "full-frame" and getting rid of IR contamination. Files were big, so I spent $550 on a new laptop with 500GByte drive and 2.5Ghz processors. It was 1/8th the cost of my 386 machine with a 20MByte hard drive. But PS 7.0 and LR3.3 seem to do the job. Office 2000 runs perfectly. I need to try Visual C++ 1.52 on it. Last version that generated DOS executables. That I use for embedded controllers in the Lab. If not, runs on my Micron Trek II.

I might need to upgrade Win7 Home Edition to Pro. So I can run Wordstar.
 
I keep meaning to dig my Imsai 8080A out of storage. Haven't fired it up in many years, but I should set it up with those 8 inch drives and get a photo just for kicks. Sadly, mine didn't talk like the one on Wargames, lol.
 
I have the original brochure for the Altair. But not the computer.

I waited for the Z80 CP/m machines. Remember the secondary register set for fast context-switching... Just like having a "virtual core".
 
The Altair a buddy owned actually is what got me playing with computers. He just had the basic kit and we programmed it from the front panel for a while. Eventually, we scrounged up an old Type 33 teletype and cobbled up some IO for it. Then spent hours hand wiring an ASCII keyboard. lol
 
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